Our Wedding Day In Pictures!

Our Wedding Day!

10.20.12

Jessica and Tim Downs

 

We just got our wedding disk back and there are 642 pictures on it!!! Way more than most people care to see but I'll share the highlights!!! We had an excellent day.. the weather was perfect and we were able to share the day with so many of those that we dearly love!!

Tim and I performed the sand ceremony- the light brown sand representing myself, the dark Tim. The white sand was poured by pastor Gary and represented Jesus in our lives. He is the beginning though the end in our lives and our marriage.. so the white was poured first, then mine, then the white, followed by Tim's, and finally the white. I love how it represents our longing for Jesus to be the beginning and end of our marriage... we strive to glorify HIM in all we do!

                                                I was SO LUCKY to have so much help with our wedding decorations! Tim's sisters were amazing in asking how I needed help and they took over decorating the church and putting together our programs! I am SO BLESSED to be joining such an awesome family!

 We did pictures before the wedding so we decided we would do this "first reveal" which was such a sweet moment for Tim and I...

I love the look on his face in this one to the right...

Pure. Joy.

-Random Favorites-

The Boys...

The B.E.S.T personal attendant EVER!!!!!
 I love my
 "significant friend of the family"
Reenie Kay!!


The boys: Jason, Isaiah, Andrew, Tim, Titus, Caleb, Andrew

Creighton (4)- Ring Bearer (turned flower girl when Ellery cried and refused to walk down the aisle...) He is such a little charmer.. and he melts my heart!

Ms Ellery (1.5 years)- Flower Girl: "Pretty flowers!!!"







I love this picture.. just wish Tim's eyes were open just a bit more!! :-)

 One of the reasons I was so thankful to have photographers that can capture those little moments I completely missed that day!

 My poor step-dad, Tom, fell several months ago and since has had to wear this neck brace to help stabilize his neck... The pictures explain themselves!

 

-The Girls-

Mallory, Ashleigh, Sierra, Heidi, Jessica, Nicole, Priscilla, Elizabeth, Rebecca

One of my favorites!

The whole wedding party!

Ashleigh, Nicole, Priscilla, Mallory, Sierra, Rebecca, Elizabeth, Heidi, Ellery, Jessica, Tim, Creighton, Titus, Jason, Andrew, Caleb, Isaiah, Andrew, Amos

 

 

The Parents

 

We are very blessed!

 

I LOVED my flowers!! They were exactly what I was looking for with very bright colors to accent our chocolate colored dresses!!

 We sort of snuck into a trolley... and I'm glad we did because I love these shots!!

 



My moms family- minus my brother in law Andrew and nephew Landen

Our nieces and nephews.. so far!!

My dad's family- minus my brother Michael (Mickey)

The Downs Family
9 more brothers and sisters (so far..) and an amazing set of "Mom and Dad" in-laws!!! I am SO blessed!!

Making it legal..

Tim and my grandma Lois.. What a bitter sweet day it was for her with her husband of 60+ years passing away just this spring... Bless her heart. We all miss grandpa!

 



We had pictures of all of our precious grandfathers who have passed away... And because we did the sand ceremony, instead of our moms lighting the unity candle they lit the remembrance candles.

 

Trying so hard to not get too emotional!! I have an ugly cry. :-)

My handsome groom.

My dad giving me away.

"Lets do this!"

My sister, Heidi- and brother, Caleb sang a duet... and then Heidi sang during communion. Thankful for talented siblings!

 

Praying before our first private communion as husband and wife.

Tim and I really wanted the Lord to be glorified through our wedding service... and this was such a SPECIAL, PRECIOUS moment between the two of us. I would recommend private communion and praying together privately as a couple to anybody planning a wedding. This was the most powerful part of the service for me.

You may kiss your bride.

 After the wedding the wedding party hopped on a bus and headed to the downtown district in Dubuque for some pictures! We had fun!

Of course we had to do a "jumping picture!"

I found these parasols in the gift shop at work and thought they would be fun to add some color to our dresses! I love it!

 

 

 

 

Sierra is my little sister and Priscilla is Tim's little sister.. they are both 10 years old. They had a good time hanging out and getting to know each other! Tim and I are hoping we can get them together more often.. maybe they can be friends! :-)

 

 The leaves at the park were AWESOME!

Our reception was at Eagle Point Park in Dubuqe, Iowa in the Riverfront Pavilion.

Our cake.. Thank you Mary!

I kept it pretty simple! We used the paper lanterns and Christmas lights.. and then the tables had the table runners with some glassware and a candle. The building and scenery were beautiful...

Tim doesn't dance.. and neither do I- we had fun attempting though! :-) Our first dance was to "Nothings Gonna Stop Us Now!" by Starship

He takes care of me.. and I feel so safe in his arms!

A candy table.. which obviously had already been visited by several guests by the time she got this picture!

Accessories!

I have a love-hate relationship with these shoes! I found them and loved them.. they are sassy and fun! I also loved how tall they were so Tim didn't tower me quite so much.. HOWEVER.. My "dogs were barkin'"!!! aka.. My feet hurt SO BAD!! I took them off immediately after the service and wore my old sketchers the rest of the night!!!

Rings

The Mississippi River has always had a special place in my heart.. after all I was just 6 days old when I was on my first boat ride and spent a full day on the sandbar!! I grew up there..and I love being there. This was one of the reasons I wanted to get married near the river.. plus I knew the leaves would be BEAUTIFUL in October! It didn't disappoint- these pictures make my heart melt. A touch of home in the background of us starting our lives together. I love it.



Speeches. We laughed and cried. Titus and Heidi both did a great job!

Heidi told a story I will not repeat.. however if you were there you know it was funny! It was enough to get my dad up to comment!! :-)

Notice our blushing cheeks!

 

Cutting the cake... Tim had strict instruction to NOT smash it....

I should have known better!!!! Look at that guilty face! (he had some encouragment from the girls... particularly ASHLEIGH!!!...)

Memories with grandparents.

Me with my grandma and grandpa Tiedt

I will end this with one of my favorite pictures.

We had an excellent day. We did our best to keep the Lord the center of everything we planned and did... and ask for your prayers as we begin our marriage! We are very excited about the future.. and pray that God will use us for HIS GLORY! Thanks for stopping by!

 

 

 {If you would like to order any pictures please let me know-

I have the disc and rights for all of our pictures and will be placing an order very soon! Just leave a comment or message me}

 

Happily Ever After

Getting married..

 

What an amazing blessing that God has given us.

To be married.

 

To meet a person that promises to love you. Forever.

 

And mean it.

 

Tim knows my past and understands my insecurities.. and he loves me regardless.

He loves my imperfect body.

He loves God.

 



 

And to find a person you can laugh with.

And be silly with.

What a joy.

 

 

I feel so blessed to have found him. To get another chance at true love.

 

I feel lucky to have enough wisdom to know that our marriage together won't be perfect...

 

But that with God- it will be possible.

 

That's amazing, Godly love.

 

 

 I am SO excited for our wedding day.

 

To become a wife- to my best friend.

 

 

I recently read a blog post that included 20 points of advice for newly engaged/married girls.  

I loved it and thought I would share...

1. Marriage is made up of two good forgivers. Because every marriage is made up of two sinners. (Romans 3:23)
2. At some point, you will have to learn that life isn’t all about you. (Philippians 2:3)

3. Don’t listen to women that tell you that passion fades…it doesn’t have to! (um…all of Song of Solomon)

4. Don’t give up. Love never fails. (1 Cor. 13)

5. He wants a kind wife, not a maid or another mother. Be nice. (Galatians 5:22-23)

6. Give your husband the gift of your respect. He needs it more than you know. (Ephesians 5:33)

7. Be mindful of your expectations.

8. Honor the Lord above all things. Colossians 3: 17

9. Find your worth and security in the Lord, and don’t look to your husband to meet all of your needs.

10. Be very careful about reading romance novels, they set you up for an unrealistic view of romance.

11. Real romance is finding that one spot in the crook of his arm to snuggle into, that shared look over the dinner table when the kids are acting crazy, and the way he fixes the leaky sink when he is dog-tired after work.

12. Love is about relationship. The more I love my husband, and seek a relationship with him, the less critical and duty-bound I become. It is similar to my relationship with God.

13. Be thankful for the husband you have. Accept him as he is, not for what you want him to be.

14. Don’t compare!! Don’t buy into the game of comparing him with anyone else’s husband.

15.The Biblically “normal” marriage is filled with joy, connection, laughter, and peace. It’s not free of hurt feelings and conflict, but they know how to process their pain with one another so that they live more often in a meadow than at the scene of a train wreck. This is not the average marriage, but it normal – -because it is a visible display of Jesus’ relationship with His bride (Ephesians 5:22-33).

16. Your marriage is a testimony! “The #1 evangelistic tool in America (the world) today is a successful marriage, because it’s a living miracle!” – Dr. Joe Aldrich, former president of Multnomah Bible College.

17. Pray for your marriage. Pray hard.

18.I’ve heard that is gets better with age. I have to say in my short {13 year} experience, that is so true.

19. Where there is God, there is always hope. Even for the most broken marriages. “With God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26)

20.Marriage is commitment and sacrifice. But it’s also the best, most wild ride you will ever have with your best friend.

Taken from "GraceFullMama"

 

In 6 weeks we will say I DO. And I can't stress enough how excited I am...

Please pray for us. For those imperfect days and the inevitable trails we will face.

That we can stay strong THROUGH the Lord.

That we can support each other and encourage each other!!

 

 

And live.. happily ever after.



I Am Engaged!!!!

It's been a while since I have updated and I have decided that that is OK. Life has slowed down a little bit since my travelling days- but I will update on things I really want to remember-or any other time I feel like I have something worth writing about!!!....

 

 

LIKE GETTING ENGAGED!!

 

What a complete blessing for God to bring this man... Tim Downs.

 

 

It was a very simple engagement- I was at his apartment in Coralville. We were planning on going for a walk. I was laying on the couch and noticed that he looked very  nervous.. almost sick- kind of sweaty and pale looking. I asked him if he was feeling alright and he immediately got on a knee in front of me.

 

 

When I saw his eyes I knew what he was doing. He was trembling... with excitement.. and with tears in his eyes he spoke words I will hold in my heart forever- but not share here.

 

.. and then asked me to be his wife..

 

 

It was simple and not fancy- but perfect. Just the two of us sharing what was such a special moment. A moment I will never forget.

 

 

We kissed and hugged... and I enjoyed my BEAUTIFUL ring!!!...and then began to share the good news with our families! It was so fun for us to have our families share the excitement with us!! They know how happy we are and we appreciate all of their support!

 

 

It's been a fast whirlwind of a relationship- but I know that God has blessed us and worked this out- so what else matters? We are so in love and as much as I want this time to SLOW DOWN so I can enjoy it.. I just cannot wait to see what the future holds for us!

 

 

It is something special. Something everyone should have. And I cannot wait to make him my husband!

 

 

Jessica and Timothy

10.20.12

Grandpa Stan

Yesterday my grandfather passed away. This was a day I NEVER EVER wanted to come. I have forever- since I can remember- had this idea that MY grandparents would NEVER die.. Obvioulsy this was very unrealistic and I knew deep down that someday I would have to face this fear. And yesterday I did.

 

To be real honest- it is a bittersweet thing. Grandpa has been in the nursing home for several months- unable to walk or really take care of himself.. so for me to wish that his life would continue that way is completely selfish and unfair. And I didn't. But it still (for lack of a better word) sucked.

 

Grandpa LOVED his grandkids. He called me his dolly. He always had a mint in his pocket.. and in exchange for a kiss I could reach into his pocket and help myself. Even with his old arthritic knees he always had room on his lap.

 

 

He LOVED his wife.. and I will forever be thankful for their example of what love is supposed to be like- everlasting love- until death did them part. They didn't always like each other- but the LOVE that was shown through them was always present. I think that is one of the reasons I completely dreaded this day. To have to see grandma live without her love. Without her soulmate. I also have dreaded watching my mom lose her dad. And my aunts and uncles lose their dad. What a blessing grandpa has been.. to all of us. He will be missed by so many.

 

It makes me so thankful that there is a heaven- and that someday we will reunite and live forever.

-together-

 

 

I think I get my love for and gift with babies from two people. My dad and my grandpa Stan. Grandpa LOVED his babies. I wish he could have met my future babies- I know he would have loved them so much.

 

I will miss you grandpa.

 

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Stanley Ellison, age 85, of Clarinda, Iowa, formerly of Fredericksburg, Iowa entered into peace Tuesday, April 17, 2012 at Goldenrod Manor, Clarinda, Iowa. Funeral services will be held 11:00 a.m., Saturday, April 21, 2012 at the Ritchie Funeral Home, Clarinda, Iowa with Reverend Leslie Traylor officiating. Visitation with the family will be held prior to the service 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. at the funeral home. A funeral service will also be held Monday, April 23, 2012 at the Peace United Church of Christ, Fredericksburg, Iowa with Pastor Bert Williams officiating. A visitation with the family will be held in Fredericksburg from 2-5- p.m., Sunday, April 22 at Chenoweth Funeral Home. Burial will be in the Rose Hill Cemetery, Fredericksburg, Iowa. Memorials may be given in Stanley's name. Memories and condolences may be shared with the family at,

www.ritchiefuneralhome.com under Obituaries.

Stanley Eugene Ellison was born July 20, 1926 to Lyle and Blanch (Thompson) Ellison in rural Chickasaw county. He attended Fredericksburg elementary and high school graduating in 1944. On May 29, 1948 he married Lois Elizabeth Mattke at the Evangelical Church in Fredericksburg, Iowa. Stanley and Lois resided in the Fredericksburg, Iowa area until 2005 when they relocated to Clarinda, Iowa. They were members of Peace United Church of Christ in Fredericksburg, where Stanley served on the church advisory committee of Northeast Iowa for 6 years. Stanley also served on The Chickasaw County Board of Education, Chickasaw County Soil Conservation Board, Chickasaw County Extension Service, and was a member of The Lions Club. After moving to Clarinda they were members of Trinity Presbyterian Church. Stanley and Lois enjoyed traveling to Port Aransas, Texas over the winter months for the past 20 years.

Left to cherish Stanley’s memory is his wife of 63 years, Lois Elizabeth (Mattke) Ellison. The couple was blessed with four children: Tom (Myrna) of San Antonio, TX; Rodney (Beverly) of Omro, WI; Sue Milius (Tom) of Denver, IA; and Kristin Smith (Michael) of Clarinda, IA. Stanley always had a special place on his lap for his grandchildren: Sonja, Ann, Thomas, Heidi, Adam, Andrew, Elizabeth, Rebecca, Jessica, Caleb, Austin, Owen, & Isabelle. Stanley and Lois were also blessed with 10 great-grandchildren, whom he loved and enjoyed very much, as well as extended family and friends.

Stanley was preceded in death by his parents, Lyle and Blanche Ellison; one brother, Hubert Ellison; and infant son, Edward.

----------------------------------------

 

(Added 04/25/12)

 

 



 

Verla

Verla is my great aunt. She is my grandpa Tiedt's older sister. She is 88 years YOUNG. She has more energy than I do some days. She is smart. She is the BEST cook. She has lived a lot of life.

Since taking my new job in Iowa City I have lived with Verla. I have learned a lot about her life as well as some history with my family and thought I would share some of that with you all.

I told her I was going to post about her on my blog- but she doesn't know what a blog is. I'll have to show her someday I suppose. (although I don't have internet at her house so who knows when that will happen..)

The following is a list I've made while living with Verla- some fun facts I did not know or funny things she has said- every day is an adventure.... {The italics are my input}
-------------------
1. Coffee and aspirin make roses or any plants live longer. The first time I saw her pour her coffee over her plant I thought she was crazy... I asked her what she was doing and she said it's good for them! I also saw her put an aspirin tablet in the roses Tim sent her for Valentine's Day.... she said it makes them last longer. I did not know that. But some roses I got from Tim a couple weeks ago still look and smell great.....

2. Verla lived with her husband, Les, in Chicago from 1941-1945. (if I understood this right)... There were two different dance halls or ballrooms. Her and Les like to go to the Trianon Ballroom. They lived close and would go to listen to the jazz music. She said she learned how to waltz with Lawrence Welk. Him and his wife, Fern, lived close to where Les and Verla lived while in Chicago.

3. In 1945, the war ended and Les and Verla moved back home (near Sumner/Readlyn). Verla's mom, my great grandmother, had cancer. They moved home to help take care of her. "I believe God ended the war in 1945 so I could go home and take care of my mom, who had cancer."

4. "Dad always called Marv (my grandpa) "Dolly". He was just so cute and little and 4 years younger than Shorty. He is about 8 years younger than me" It has been so fun for me to hear stories about my grandpa from his older sister. I guess it's easy to forget that at some point in their lives my grandparents were my age. Verla has so many stories about Marv from when he was young and it's been so much fun to hear them and picture him at that age. It's my family history- history I would have never known about without talking to Verla.

5. "We were all the same- Me, Paul, and Marv, but "Shorty" (Elmer) was different- he was a grouch!!" There were four kids in the family- Verla, Paul, Elmer, and Marvin.


6. You should save (freeze them) all of your vegetable and fruit peels throughout the year. When you plant your garden in the spring, dig deeper than your seeds and put the peels into the soil. They will release nutrients that are very good for the soil and the plants you are trying to grow in your garden! Egg shells are especially good- full of calcium! I know NOTHING about gardening- although I think it's important to learn. Verla plants a big garden every year and cans/freezes enough food that a lot of the meals she makes she uses fresh food from her garden year round. I think it's an important and smart thing to know and I'm excited to learn with her this spring as we plant the garden!

7. More than four cups of water a day really ISN'T very good for you. A little lard in your cooking everyday IS good for you. I know this goes against everything current medicine would tell you. But she IS 88 (almost 89) years old and in pretty darn good health considering her age. Maybe we all have a lot to learn from the older generations!! :-)

8. "Your grandpa was quite the character growing up. One morning I went down into the cellar and found the whole cellar floor filled with watermelons!!! You grandpa and his friends had stolen watermelons overnight and decided to store them in our cellar!! When he came later that day I asked him if he knew anything about any watermelons and he just smiled and said, "nope!". He was always finding trouble- never any serious trouble- but enough to make me laugh and keep everyone on our toes!"

9. An excerpt from my diary:
Jan 18, 2012
Today I was off work. I slept in, which was so nice for a change! When I got up I was pleasantly surprised to the smells of home-made pancakes. Verla is giving Grandpa Tiedt a run for his money in the pancake area. They were GOOD! We had pancakes and then it was time to "get some work done". Verla is always going- never sitting- which is probably why she is 88 years old and sometimes I feel like she has more energy than I do. I had told her I would enjoy helping her with things around the house. She keeps telling me things she wants to get done so today I made a list. "Jessica and Verla's "TO-DO's". It's on the fridge and I'm afraid it's filling fast.

One of the tasks on the list was for me to give Verla a hair cut. I'm not sure how she ever got this idea in her head but she has been asking since I moved in if I could trim her hair. I told her my disclaimer was that I have NO training in cutting hair and that I was making no promises about how it would look like when I was done!

....so there we sat. Verla on her stool in the bathroom with a towel draped over her shoulders. I had my dull "sharp" scissors and a comb. I starting pretending to know what I was doing and started the trimming. I actually think it was kind of fun. We talked a lot about her past and she told me stories about grandpa. I'm going to write them all down and need to blog a post for her! After I finished cutting it I put some mousse in it and put it up in some rollers. She taught me how to put her bandanna thing over the curlers so they stayed in place.  She thought it was pretty funny that I had never used curlers before. 

After her haircut we headed downstairs to work on the basement. She has so much storage in this house! Verla put on her favorite record and I decided to start a fire. Verla has taught me how to build a fire "just right". We were going through boxes and rearranging stuff when we found a box of Lyle's things. We found Lyle's will, some of his old band books with his schedule in them- where he was going to play on what day, how much he made when he played. Verla talked the whole time about him- how much she loved him and how much fun she would have when he played with the band. She decided to burn them because she needs to "take care of this stuff". She threw them in the fire and sat down. The emotion was so high. I wish I could have taken a picture. There she sat- her rollers in her hair- watching part of her past burn. I told her the emotion were high for me- I can't imagine how she felt. It was a neat moment. I feel honored to have this time with her. She sure is a special person!

Later that night- after organizing some more we had a "high ball" and watched some Lawrence Welk. Not my style- but it felt right. We had a good day and got a lot done today. And I'm starting to wonder maybe if I chose the wrong profession- her hair didn't look all that bad!! Maybe I'll pick up a second career!! ha ha.. Until tomorrow.."

10. Verla was 23 when her mom passed away from cancer (her mom was 43). Verla's husband, Les died when Verla was 56 from a heart attack. Verla had ovarian cancer and was given 6 months to live at 77 years old. (obviously she beat it... she is so strong) Verla's second husband, Lyle died when Verla was 82. One of Verla's very best friends (and her aunt), Viera, died just two days after her husband, Lyle died. Verla's son, Bill, died in 2010- Verla was 86. We all go through life struggles and lose loved ones- but I never realize how blessed I am until I sit down and listen to the life struggles of other people. I cannot imagine losing my mom, or husband, or son... and like I said in the beginning of this post- she has lived so much life but through that life has lost so many loved ones. 
---------------
 Verla and I have had a lot of "heart to hearts"- most of them when I don't really say anything- but she talks. And sometimes (a lot of times) we laugh, sometimes we cry, but mostly I think it's good for her to just talk. She loves to tell stories of her loved ones- of her sweet son Bill who she misses so dearly- and her very best friend Viera. Verla wouldn't want anyone to feel sorry for her- but she has been a good reminder to me that when I feel like my life isn't going the way I think it should- I still have so many blessings to count- and I have thanked her for that reminder.

Living at her house isn't always easy. I get NO cell phone reception there- I have no Internet- I have no cable TV- I'm secluded in the woods.... but honestly it's been kind of good for me. Sometimes it's nice to "unplug" and just enjoy the outdoors. I keep in touch with everyone through my land line while I'm there. :-)

To end this I will say I really do appreciate her and I am so thankful that she has given me a place to stay!! I am learning life lessons from her and stories about my family that I am grateful to know!!